ICYMI: McConaughey Movie Filmed in Worcester is Heading to Cannes

Email to a friend Permalink

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

GoLocal Worcester Lifestyle Team

Gus Van Sant's film The Sea of Trees, starring Matthew McConaughey, Naomi Watts and Ken Watanabe is heading to the Cannes Film Festival in May.

The Sea of Trees, scheduled for release later this year, was filmed in Worcester last summer. The film is about a suicidal American man, Arthur Brennan, getting lost in a dense forest at the base of Mt. Fuji. In the forest, Brennan (played by McConaughey) encounters Takumi Nakamura (played by Watanabe), a Japanese man who is also lost, and together they search for a way out.

At Cannes, The Sea of Trees will be in competition for the Palme d'Or - the highest prize awarded for the Best Feature Film. 

Last summer, Van Sant filmed The Sea of Trees at Purgatory Chasm and at a number of Worcester's local colleges. Worcester's own Brian and Joe Girard worked on the film all summer long.

In an interview last fall with GoLocal, Brian Girard said, "The actual formation of those rocks (at Purgatory Chasm) is such a unique geological structure. Gus (Van Sant) fell in love with that place. He wanted to shoot there so badly that he asked 'From here, how can we do the rest of the film?'. The Chasm, along with several other locations that were part of the Mass. State Park system, were used to replicate parts of the Aokigahara Forest at the base of Mt Fuji, or otherwise known as 'The Sea of Trees.'"

"McConaughey's character is a college professor going through trials and tribulations of every day life," said Brian. "And with Worcester being a college town, and with Purgatory Chasm right down the road, now all the elements that they need for the script, happened to be within a 30 mile radius, with Worcester being the hub."

To read the full interview with the Girard brothers, click here: Girard Brothers Help Van Sant Make ‘Sea of Trees’ Film in Worcester.

---

Related Slideshow: Movies Filmed in Central Massachusetts

Related Articles

• Girard Brothers Help Van Sant Make ‘Sea of Trees’ Film in Worcester
• 50 Top Movies Filmed in Massachusetts
• Worcester State Grad Films Baseball Documentary for NESN Series
• Auburn’s Kayla Harrity Stars on NESN’s Dirty Water TV
• The Movie ‘Grace’ Being Filmed in Worcester
• Central MA Affected By Worst Movie Theater Attendance in Two Decades
• NEW: Christian Bale Filming New Movie On Millbury Street
• In Case You Missed It: Movie Brings Money + Buzz To Worcester
• The 10 Best Movie Theaters in Central MA
• Bale, Cooper, Lawrence Movie Bolstering Worcester Economy

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink